‘Repairing’ the Machine: A Case Study of the Evaluation of Computer-Aided Detection Tools in Breast Screening

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problems of introducing computer-based tools into collaborative processes, arguing that such an introduction must attend to the sociality of work if it is not to impact negatively upon the work that they are intended to support. To ground our arguments, we present findings from an ethnomethologicallyinformed ethnographic study carried out in the context of the clinical trial of a computerbased aid in medical work. Our findings highlight the problematic nature of traditional clinical trials for evaluating healthcare technologies, precisely because such trials fail to grasp the situated, social and collaborative dimensions of medical work.